"I have my smile back. I will start my season now."
Friday 14 December 2018 08:17, UK
Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny says his return in Thursday's 1-0 win over Qarabag after seven months out was "emotional".
Koscielny played 72 minutes in Arsenal's final Europa League group game having not featured since rupturing his Achilles in the semi-final of the same competition against Atletico Madrid last May.
The central defender could be in line to return for Arsenal's trip to Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday, but head coach Unai Emery says he will have to make a late call on his fitness.
Koscielny admits it was a long, hard road to recovery, but says his "smile is back" and that his "season starts now".
"Yes, it was an important day for me," he told Arsenal.com. "It was the end of my rehab, so I am very happy to play today with my team, for this club, and to enjoy it with them on the pitch.
"It was very emotional because you remember the first day when I was injured, the 3rd of May, and now we are on the [13th] of December, and you have some flashbacks in your head about different periods you had during your rehab.
"I met a lot of people who helped me a lot, and so I'm very proud to know them now. There were some difficult moments, during this period, but now I think I'm more calm and focused on what I want, and physically I'm OK.
"I'm proud of myself," added the captain. "You know in rehab it's difficult to be injured, because when you start rehab you have to re-learn how to walk, how to go step by step on the stairs, and it's difficult at the beginning, because you look like you can't be back on the pitch.
"But with the people who worked with me and helped me every day, I gave 100 per cent to be back every day and to progress every day. Then when I came back here [to Arsenal] everyone pushed me hard to work. It's OK - I like to work! So I gave more for this and now I have the result for all the effort I made over seven months.
"It's been difficult but you learn a lot about yourself, about the people you have around you."
